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Naib Imam asks parties to define secularism

The consultative committee of historic Jama Masjid has flayed so-called secular parties for using minorities as their vote-bank, stating no one should consider the Muslim vote as their pocket borough.

At a meeting last night convened to take stock of the political situation in the country, committee chairman Syed Ahmed Bukhari said the Congress and other political parties should not take the Muslim support for granted. The parties who claim themselves secular must define what they mean by secularism. He said most of the leaders of so-called secular parties have joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party with the sole objective of grabbing power at the Centre.

Representatives from a number of states took part in the deliberations. Bukhari said during its 45-year-rule, the Congress did nothing concrete for the welfare and development of Muslims. The Naib Imam said due to the absence of any secular party, the Congress has got the impression that the minorities would solidly support it. However, he felt it may be possible for the Muslims to support the Bahujan Samaj Party, despite certain reservations about its functioning. He said it was very important to form electoral unity between Muslims and the backward classes. Some of the members also favoured supporting the Samajwadi Party.

UNI

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